


Ghost Light

by Fyliwion



Series: 30 Kisses [10]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Angst, Backstage, Bittersweet, Childhood Friends, F/M, Love Letter to Theatre, On Stage Shenanigans, Romance, Running Away Let's Do It, Semi-Public Sex, Show Business, Slow Burn, Smut, Ten Years Later, Theater - Freeform, Theater Life, Theatre, Theatre Superstitions, cops and robbers, magic show, magician, no one dies, questionable happy endings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:42:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24897136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fyliwion/pseuds/Fyliwion
Summary: It would have been his tenth performance.
Relationships: Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid & Nakamori Aoko, Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid/Nakamori Aoko
Series: 30 Kisses [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1713385
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	Ghost Light

**Author's Note:**

> If you've been keeping up, welcome to an almost entirely new fic! 
> 
> This turned into my love letter for theatre, a tribute to all those ghost lights waiting for it's cast, crew and audience to come back after this pandemic ends. The plot is still fundamentally same, but years have passed and I have a very different perspective concerning theater than I did when I initially wrote this (one that made it impossible to ignore and caused the overhaul). So I hope you'll enjoy and give it a read! 
> 
> This one has a special place in my heart. 
> 
> 30 Kisses Challenge  
> Theme #10: #10

The theater was dark, and while the man at the stage door had let her in it was difficult to believe anyone else still remained. The backstage was empty, except for the monoliths of props and items stacked to the heavens like an unholy maze. The heavy metal door was like a vault, only the slightest crack giving her a hint it led out into the house. She stumbled out into the aisle and nearly tripped into a seat down a set of steps she never saw. The ghost light illuminated a circle on the stage, but it seemed to cast nothing but shadows in the rest of the cavernous space.

Maybe she had been wrong. The thoughts had plagued her as her steps echoed through the darkness behind the stage curtain. But when the news broke she could only think of one place that he would be. Her heart and mind were both in sync as her body went on autopilot without even questioning the facts. It would be ridiculous to think anyone would do something so  _ obvious,  _ somewhere so public and easily accessible. He might be an idiot, he might thrive on danger, but this was a special sort of lunacy. Yet…

Kaito so rarely did what was expected. 

As Aoko's eyes adapted to the darkness, she saw the outline of a man sitting in the front row, staring up at the stage. 

Well, that answered that.

Her shoes sounded strangely loud as they echoed through the house. The soft click of her heels, as she stepped along the narrow aisle past empty seats. She hadn’t had time to change out of her uniform, although she’d left her jacket at work in her rush to leave. She'd barely had time to grab the necessities, the files she knew she couldn't leave behind, and personal items she couldn't give up. They were piled in her bag she'd left at the stage door. Her fingers ran along her skirt, tracing the feel of the fabric of the marker of what she'd worked so hard to obtain, the thing that had driven her over the years. For her, something as precious as KID's suit was to him. 

Aoko suspected she wouldn't be wearing it again after today. Her jacket, left on the back of her chair in her office, likely forever out of reach. 

He didn't turn towards her, though she wasn't surprised. She didn't think he would. Somehow she suspected he couldn’t care less if she were the Chief of Police or a janitor. She could have a team ready to arrest him and he likely wouldn't even protest.

She wondered if he noticed her at all.

She slipped down the row behind him. The silence was deafening and he still hadn’t turned her way. He might have been a mannequin, a decoy, like the doll he'd sat next to her in that theater when they were just children. It might have just been a trick, but the ghost light illuminated the stiffness in his shoulders, the tilt of his head, and a soft breath of air that batted at his messy hair. The shadows kept his face, but she could still see the rise and fall of careful breaths. Aoko fought to try to figure out what to say.

She was startled when he spoke first.

"I know."

Aoko jumped. She nearly fell out of the chair as she looked back at him. He was still staring at the stage.

"I didn't-"

"But that's why you're here, isn't it? To tell me you were right? Though I have to ask a favor. Would you mind if we sit here a bit before you take me to the station?” Suddenly she was thankful for the darkness. She wasn’t sure she could bear to see the emotion etched there.

"Kaito, that's not why I'm-"

He didn't say anything, but the words died in her throat. Why had she come at all? She knew it had been stupid, especially if someone thought to follow her, but once the news broke her sanity had just seemed to fly out the window. She'd stood in front of the theater before she even knew where she was going.

She was an idiot. 

"It's alright  _ Nakamori-san _ . Please, just a few minutes more if you don't mind?" 

Her heart broke. She could hear it shatter amongst the ghosts. Why had she bothered to come at all? Of course he didn't want her there, watching him mourn. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly, getting to her feet. "I shouldn't have come. I'll leave you be. Forget- forget I ever came here." She turned to go, her hand brushing the back of his seat, tentatively resting for a moment on his shoulder as she pulled away to go. 

He grabbed her hand.

"Don't."

Neither moved. The shadows hung in the theater like ghosts around them. The dim blue light pulsed on stage, and she felt a chill in the air but her hand was warm underneath the soft touch of his. She could feel the silk of long fingers, soft calluses from his cardgun, and his heart racing under a calm exterior.

"You probably want to be alo-"

"Don't let me lose you too.”

The pleading in his voice was what caught her. She hadn't expected that. It was rare enough to hear Kaito ask for anything, but he never begged. At that moment, she was aware just how young they both still were. That they'd both just begun to make it. How far they'd gone in their dreams. How much they both had lost.

His fingers intertwined with hers, "Please?"

She nodded and squeezed his hand gently. Her eyes followed where he gazed, to the small circle of light around the ghost light. A solitary performer in a hazy make believe spotlight, a pale phantom of the performance that should have been happening there that night.

Aoko felt tears starting to prick her eyes and brushed them away with her free hand. She wasn't even sure how long they stayed there, caught in the silence of the theater, holding their breaths and eyes entranced by ghosts.

It was Kaito who finally moved. He stood letting her hand drop and walked up to the edge of the stage. He looked up and she heard him laugh, bitterly.

"Ten shows."

She blinked and moved towards the end of the row. 

"What?"

"Ten shows. Well I guess nine theoretically. This would have been my tenth as a professional magician."

Aoko bit her lip, and stopped at the aisle not quite sure what to do. Her feet were frozen in place, and she wanted to say something, anything, but then the only other time she'd ever seen Kaito like this was when he'd been eight and had just lost his father.

_ Kami-sama,  _ he'd even taken on the task force with a grin on his face just hours before.

"I knew I guess that some day this might happen. I guess I didn't think it would be so soon. I guess I thought I'd get in a few years at least-"

She wondered dimly if she was crying for him. She could tell he wasn't, even as awful as the whole thing was she knew he wouldn't be crying. Instead, her own eyes filled with tears as he spoke the words. Her heart threatened to beat itself out of her chest.

"It was the one thing I've always really wanted, you know? The one thing I was sure of- Well, one of the few things. Now I've ruined it. I've lost it forever, with no hopes of ever achieving it again. Is it better to have loved and lost a love then to never have loved at all?" He turned to look at her and she could hear her heart shatter.

Seeing how empty his face was. How calm he seemed, except for the pain she etched in his lines. Except for the way the light illuminated the loss that filled his eyes.

“Kaito…”

"I've lost two now. Loves. Three, I suppose, if you count my father. I guess I should know the answer by now. Of course one of those things I never really had one to begin with-" he added looking straight at her. "Maybe that was for the better." The smile he threw her was bitter and mocking. A facade that may have meant to look real, but was a cheap imitation. Something not even KID would have gracing his face.

It forced her to look away.

He gave a slight huff, "Well, I knew you were going to leave the minute I took up the cloak. At least I had some time to prepare for that." He stepped closer to the stage and rested a hand along the wood, "I guess we all regret our choices in the end."

“Not always,” her voice cracked. “Not always Kaito. I-”

"Don't pretend Aoko, leave that up to me. I'm not so pretentious as to have actually thought you might side with me on this, but I do thank you for coming. If anyone was going to come for me I’d rather it be you. Do you think maybe you'll let me flip your skirt one last time before I leave for good? The stage hands always leave a mop right off-stage left." His eyes sparkled, and for a moment she met his eyes and thought she saw something more than sadness. 

She couldn’t bring herself to speak, frightened her voice might break before she could find the words. 

He turned back to the stage, hands brushing the wood like a lover’s caress. 

She wasn’t sure what she was doing as her feet took her forward. As her heels clicked against the wood and she wrapped her arms around him. Aoko buried her face in his jacket and he leaned into the edge of it, surprised, as he turned to find his arms filled with the young officer. 

"Ao-"

"Don't you dare say that." She could feel the tears streaming down her cheek and staining his jacket. She couldn’t care as her fist tightened on his lapel, "Don't you dare talk like that. That doesn't sound like you at all. Don't say…"

He moved to stroke her hair, looking away so she couldn't see his face in the shadow. "It's true isn't it?"

"No! No it isn't true! I won't just leave you like this! What kind of friend is that? What kind of person do you think I am?  _ Why do you think I’m even here?! _ Do you see Hakuba? My father? A team of men surrounding us?"

She felt him go still beneath her. 

"What?" 

"It's just me Kaito. It's just Aoko. Not-- not Officer Nakamori. Not  _ Nakamori-san.  _ Just me." Her fingers held tight to the jacket, and she lifted her head daring a look at his face. Violet eyes calculating her words, softening as they took a moment to bounce at the empty doors, the faint light from the windows in the lobby carrying nothing but the usual city lights. 

Kaito looked down at her, his face still smooth, "Aoko you're honest. Law abiding. On the side of “good”. I've always admired you for it. The way you can have spirit and go for whatever it is your after but still manage to keep all your morals in check. You never had to break the law to achieve your goals, and if it had been your father murdered, I'm certain you wouldn't have gone off and stole gems in some sort of act of revenge. You'd never have risked losing all those you cared about in some stupid attempt to continue a legacy that was likely the wrong choice to begin with. I hurt you Aoko. I know that. You don't have to do-"

"Someone does," she said softly up to him.

Neither said a word.

He cupped her cheek, and she leaned into his hand. Her eyes shut as she listened to the sound of their breathing, slowly coming down from the heightened emotions moments before. 

She felt him still and she opened her eyes, meeting his struck gaze. 

It was her only chance.

She cleared her throat, "Can I see the show?"

He looked down as though he wasn't quite sure what Aoko was asking, so she pushed the subject again, "Well?"

"What are you talking about? Aoko, I'm not-"

"We're in the theater aren't we? I know you! You always have tricks up your sleeves. Don't they always say something like, ‘An audience starts with one?’ Well here I am and I'm here to see you." She took a step back wiping her eyes and smiling at him this time. Somehow the smile came easier, seeing the disbelief etched on his normally stoic features. 

Kaito shook his head, "Aoko you've seen all my tricks and you know can see them anytime. Don't worry about it. I won't bore you with-"

She scowled and crossed her arms, "Don't be an idiot. I love your magic tricks, surely you know that by now. I'm sure you had something special planned! It's your tenth show isn't it? The show must go on, and you have an audience waiting." Aoko moved to take a seat, arms still crossed and forcing a smile. "Please Kaito?"

This time it was her pleading, and she watched as he slowly gave in.

"When could I ever say no to a beautiful lady?" 

The light went out. 

Her hands reached for the arm rests, tightening on them as a soft strand of music filled the air. A timpany sounded a moment later, and suddenly there was a swath of light center stage. Smoke gathered around Kaito’s shadow, and when he stepped into the light he wore his white tuxedo, although his cloak and monocle were nowhere to be found. 

"Good evening honored audience! My lady! Ghosts! Any other phantoms who have decided to fill our house this evening," the smirk he had was only for her. "Welcome tonight to join us for magic, mystery, and perhaps- a touch of romance." 

Rose petals rained down around Aoko, causing a laugh to bubble to Aoko's lips. 

"We're so happy you could join us on our journey, and without further ado-!" 

The magic began. 

There were the usual hat tricks, puffs of smoke, and disappearing acts. There was the showmanship and jokes, things that made her laugh and forget she was in an empty theater. She felt the ghosts around her laugh and fill the seats. It was a full house, a companionship that made the theater feel like any other as Kaito played the air like a violin. She could hear children shrinking, women sighing, and her own heart racing as the stunts grew more dangerous and elaborate.

Of course, Kaito pulled bunnies out of hats, doves turning into butterflies, confetti from the air, levitation, roses growing from water lilies that had stemmed from a glass of water. The roses spread, creating a garden on stage that she could smell, and vines that crept up to her foot and bloomed in her lap. 

There were explosions, fire, and a trip through the night sky. He picked up stars and played with their glow, before shooting them off up into the heavens. By the time an hour had passed both of them wrapped themselves up fully in the magic of the performance. It was easy to forget why they were there. Forgot everything from the last twenty-four hour. Forget that they were still in their uniforms and hiding away from the rest of the world. 

It was what performers did after all, that made a person forget. 

Even for a few short hours. 

It was the same, for a performer.

Kaito's eyes grew brighter and brighter as the tricks grew more outlandish. Aoko had no idea how he managed, without a crew and just a few sparse lights, but then little that Kaito had done was made of reason. Finally, he turned straight to her and held out a hand. 

"For my last trick of the evening, I will need a member of the audience. Would the lady be so kind as to join me on the stage?"

Aoko felt a blush spread across her cheeks. Nevermind there was no one to see, no audience to judge her. Still, she rose from her seat with a smile and walked towards the steps leading up to the stage. 

He took her hand in his and helped lead her up. Looking out, she realized with the lights it was hard to tell that the audience was empty at all. The first few rows, sure, but if you let your eyes drift you could almost pretend otherwise.

"What would you like me to do, sir?" She asked, smiling up at him. He had his own rakish grin, not KID but entirely Kaito. It was the kind of grin that told her they were both about to get into trouble, or that he was about to do something that would drive her insane. She realized he still hadn’t dropped her hand, and she felt warmth flood through her that was from more than just the spotlight trained on the two of them. 

"My dear lady. Thank you for joining me this evening..." he brought her hand to his lips and she felt the flush flood her cheeks. “If you would. Come closer and stand here please?” He tugged her forward into the center of the stage. 

“Of course, Kuroba-san,” she replied, eyes glinting as she stepped forward. His smile was infectious, and his eyes were sparkling. 

How could he have ever thought she would willingly lose him? 

He grinned back at her, “Now if you don’t mind,” he wrapped his arm around her waist snugly so she was resting in his hold. Her breath caught, and in a whisper he asked, “Is this alright?” 

“Always Kaito.” 

His eyes burned. 

“Then, I shall have you look up-" his hand glided to her cheek and then ran to her chin so as to tilt it up. "And then…"

He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

The world stopped. 

Her arms reached up and wrapped around his neck. She rose to her toes, but it hardly mattered because he’d lifted her in his arms and spun her around. When they pulled away it was only for a moment, a brief, breathless moment until he reclaimed her lips and gathered her back in his arms. 

She let out a groan, breathing his name into his lips  _ “Kaito…”  _

No. She wouldn’t be returning to the force. There would be no handcuffs or prison cells or questions. 

Regrets? Maybe but…

“ _ I love you,”  _ his words were whispered against her skin. Whispered between kisses that ran along her neck, fingers that played with buttons, and hems and ran up along her skirt and along her thigh. 

How long had they waited? How long had she wondered, and asked herself why? Why wouldn’t he kiss her? Why couldn’t it just be them, Kaito and Aoko against the rest of the world. 

Why were they only ever best friends, but never lovers? 

Perhaps there was some good from the heist that night. 

Her legs reached the edge of the table he’d brought on stage two acts ago. She leaned against it as he groaned into her mouth. She wondered what would happen if she let him just take her there. If Hakuba or her father would come ramming down the doors of the theater still looking for the fugitive. If Kaito would get cold feet and still run, run somewhere that she couldn’t follow.

Her shirt was already open, and his jacket was discarded on the floor. She grabbed the ends of his tie, pulling him back towards her as his laughter lit up the theater. Her shirt pushed up to her hips, his fingers trailing past her inner thigh, up and up and- 

" _ Kaito!"  _

Her nails digging into his skin. Her lips tightening at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Teeth brushing the skin she found there, pushing back his shirt as he let out a cry. 

_ "And now for the final trick," _ he whispered into her ear, panting and laughing. She felt the soft fabric of her underwear disappear and laughed. When his fingers trailed where the fabric had been a moment before, the laughter turned into a moan and his name. He chuckled, pressing soft kisses along the tops of her breasts, and still working until she'd forgotten where they even were. 

"Kaito-- Kaito please I-"

He laughed, nipping at her earlobe as he whispered, "And here I thought I'd have to fetch you a mop for flipping your skirt." 

She hissed, grabbing his tie again and pulling him back to her, "You take those fingers away, and you'll be getting more than a mop to the head.  _ And  _ I'll leave you for Hakuba to come pick up."

He laughed, and a moment later clever fingers pushed back along inside her and she fought to keep from screaming. 

She was completely unraveled, laid out on his table like one of his tricks. The same love and reverence he had for his magic, all evident in every touch and kiss. The pain and anguish they'd both shared, erased entirely as she pulled him down to her, both of them sprawled out and in a state of mostly undress. 

Looking down, she wondered if she hadn't noticed sooner. How fit he was. Lithe, firm muscles, unwavering under her hand. Old wounds that might be brushed away as magic accidents, but resembled too close to bullet wounds, and shards of glass she remembered oh so well. 

Her hand brushed over his stomach, and his easy smile was replaced by a penitent one.

“I’m coming with you,” she said softly when he pulled away. She grabbed his hand, refusing to let go. He had never looked more handsome, and she couldn't even care she was half-way to naked beneath him. Her uniform was incomplete shambles around them, although she supposed if she was going to resign dishonorably, might as well go out with a bang. 

“Aoko-” 

She pressed a finger against his lips, muffling his protests, “Don't you dare. You can argue later, but I already decided. We can both go to hell. You need help Kaito, and I’m trained. I won’t do your heists for you, but I will watch your back.” 

He pushed away her grip, “I’m not going to let you ruin your-” 

Her other hand tightened on his collar and she gave him a look that had made many another officer wither before her, “We might not even get out of here, but fuck it. Kaito. I-” 

There was so much fear and doubt. So many questions playing on both their lips. 

Lips she leaned up into. Lips she captured again, as hands tightened around her. She wasn't the only one who refused to let go. 

She pulled away and looked up at him, “I’ve made my choice.”

She knew there would be more arguments, and more questions. Maybe it  _ was  _ naive, but she also knew she loved him and that while he wasn’t in the right, he also wasn’t wrong.

His hands touched her. His lips again. The feel of his hair in her hands. 

Choices. 

Maybe it was wrong, but in that empty theater, she could hear the ghosts cheering them on anyway.

  
  
  


  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I feel bad for the attendant at the stage door, but no doubt as soon as she showed up he put headphones in.


End file.
